“Dead Man Talking,” the story of childhood friends Pat and Joe who have a falling out and don’t speak for years until the day before Joe’s funeral, will be a shorter and simpler version of Doyle’s full-length book.

The Man Booker prize-winning novelist said he was “delighted” to be involved with the Quick Reads Initiative for teaching adult literacy, “as they are all about creating new readers, and [he has] seen at first-hand how low levels of literacy have a negative effect on people’s lives.”

“Literacy is the key to opening doors for everyone,” the Dublin author added. He is the first Man Booker prizewinner to contribute to the Quick Reads Initiative.

Quick Reads project director Cathy Rentzenbrink called the novel “a wonderfully compelling tale about life and death,” and said that it shows the story “possibilities that can exist even when using simpler language.”

The Quick Reads Initiative offers books by best selling authors that are under 128 pages to adults who may find reading difficult, giving them the opportunity to pick up good reads by mainstream writers. They are the same as mainstream books in all respects, aside from being a bit shorter and easier to tackle.

The books are read widely through colleges, community centers, prisons, hospitals, dyslexia centers, army bases and more.

Works by Roddy Doyle include “The Commitments,” “The Snapper,” “Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha,” “The Van” and many more. He is renowned for his extensive dialogues in Irish slang.

“Dead Man Talking” is a compelling tale part of the Quick Reads Initiative.Photocall Ireland